Day One – Frieze London 2017

GLASS headed down to Regent’s Park to attend the first day of the Frieze Week 2017. The Frieze arts fair has taken place annually for the past 15 years and aims to showcase up-and-coming, as well as established, artists from around the world. Frieze takes place at two locations in Regent’s Park – Frieze London and Frieze Masters. More than 160 galleries from 31 countries have their own separate booths at the fair to present work from artists that they have collaborated with.

Frieze London features a very broad array of artistic talent but there were some stand-out booths and pieces. Hauser and Wirth have collaborated with Cambridge Historian Mary Beard on the exhibit Bronze Age c3500 BC-AD 2017 to bring together Bronze Age exhibits from British museums and bronze sculptures by famous artists. The exhibit was organised like a museum with details about life in the Bronze Age period scattered alongside information about the art pieces.

Bronze Age c3500BC – AD 2017

Bronze Age c3500BC – AD 2017

Another highlight of Frieze London is the political themes behind the pieces exhibited by Vermelho, São Paulo. For example, Brazilian artist Dora Longo Bahia’s piece titled Olimpiados documents the incompetency of Brazilian authorities regarding the Rio 2016 Olympic games by painting clowns on the front pages of major Brazilian dailies reporting on the event. The political message behind the piece is particularly visually obvious and striking, which really draws attention to this piece in a fair as full of excellent pieces as Frieze.

Dora Longo Bahia, Olimpiados, 2017

Finally, the Sommer Contemporary Art booth exhibited Guy Zagursky’s fascinating steel columns embroidered with coloured threads. The piece is simple and under-stated, but the columns stand out because it impossible to figure out how the artist has embroidered these posts in this manner.

Guy Zagursky, Untitled 2017

Close up of the embroidery on Guy Zagursky’s piece, Untitled, 2017

by Allie Nawrat

Frieze week runs from Thursday, October 5 until Sunday, October 8 at two locations in Regent’s Park – Frieze London and Frieze Masters. The opening times are 11am to 7pm Thursday to Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sunday